Byron school board approves 17.5% levy increase

Following the annual Truth in Taxation hearing in December, the Byron School Board approved a total tax levy of $10,786,351.78, a 17.5% increase from the $9,215,144.46 levied a year earlier.
That figure included the amount contained in the levy referendum voters approved on Nov. 4.
The amount levied for the General Fund totaled $4,812,114.54, with $1,733,620 the result of the levy referendum.
The amount levied for Community Ed was 126,719.87 and for Debt Service, $5,847,517.78.
The board also denied a petition to detach property from the Byron District and attach it to the adjoining Pine Island School District.
The petitioner’s children have attended Pine Island Schools through open enrollment, and Pine Island’s transportation has recently changed. The family asked Olmsted County to redraw the boundary lines, but Byron Superintendent Nate Walbruch said unless the school board gave its consent to the detachment, Olmsted County would not consider it.
According to Walbruch, the district’s financial advisor said the impact of the detachment would be negligible.
However, after discussion of the precedent that might be set by consenting to the detachment, the school board unanimously voted to deny the petition.
6-12 and Sept. 4 for grades K-5. Homecoming will be on Oct. 9, and the MEA break will be Oct. 15 and 16. The Thanksgiving break was set for Nov. 26 and 27, with the winter break Dec. 24-Jan. 1. Graduation will be May 28, 2027.